Guy Harvey: Gulf spill a call to action to save fisheries

During a recent visit to Alabama and Mississippi for appearances at retailers carrying my Guy Harvey line of products, I had a chance to talk with many people about the impact of the Gulf oil spill. When you visit the affected area, it means much more than seeing the tragedy on TV from 1,500 miles away.

There has been such a widespread condemnation of the responsible party, BP, that I am not going to add to that, only to say the whole episode exposes man's unpreparedness for such events. We are so quick to exploit both living and mineral resources without putting in place the necessary conservation or mitigating processes. There has been widespread commercial over-exploitation of fish and shellfish in the Gulf (bluefin tuna, redfish, red snapper and shrimp with consequent by-catch mortality) and extensive deepwater oil drilling, apparently without adequate procedures in place on site or along the coast to prevent accidents of this caliber and preventing the oil from coming ashore.

Already 2010 has seen devastating earthquakes, massive flooding, destructive typhoons, huge tornadoes, and now we are adding to this destructive scenario. In addition, we are at the beginning of what may be an active Atlantic hurricane season.

Oil has been extracted from the Gulf for over 50 years, most of it safely, except for some small incidents here and there, which seem acceptable to the industry. I am reminded that there are oil spills all around the world where drilling takes place, but not on this level. The last major catastrophe was in 1979 in the Bay of Campeche (southern Gulf of Mexico) when the oil flowed for nearly 300 days following an oil rig explosion. People have forgotten about that one. It was not well-publicized and certainly did not have live underwater video of the many barrels of oil spewing from the broken well on our TV 24/7.

Experts say it could take a couple more months before the problem is solved. In that time, the public will become accustomed to the bad news, and watch something else. Certainly Haiti does not come up on the news any more. But for the wildlife affected and for the people whose livelihood is severely interrupted, this event is as bad as a Category 5 hurricane, an 8.0 earthquake or a terrible tornado.

The longer the oil flows, the more wildlife will be affected. Given the slow circulation of the Gulf, the oil and dispersants are already killing off untold numbers of planktonic animals, fish eggs, larvae and juvenile fish that will affect recruitment of these species for the next couple of years. While BP will be responsible for the clean-up of oil that reaches shore and for reimbursing the affected fishermen and despite efforts already begun to clean oil-covered birds, there has been little public concern for species found below the water surface.

Crude oil contains many compounds that are toxic to most animals, including fish. Fish can be impacted by oil through uptake by the gills, direct ingestion of oil or oiled prey, effects on eggs and larval survival, or changes in their supporting ecosystem. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in crude oil affect eggs and larvae of fish and increase mortality. Adult fish may experience reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart and respiration rates, fin erosion and reproductive impairment when exposed to oil. Fish are particularly susceptible to absorbing these compounds because they naturally have a high oil or fat content, and the compounds dissolve easily in their tissues through contact with the skin and gills.

The bluefin tuna could be particularly impacted as their spawning ground is directly affected by the spill. The effects on fish larvae range from mortality to abnormal development and deformities. Bluefin tuna are already severely overexploited, and the oil will almost definitely affect the survivability of this species throughout the entire Atlantic Ocean. While the adults of all pelagic species can avoid the oil, the juvenile stages cannot. Since the effects of oil spills can last for years, they can have a devastating effect on local fish populations.

Our dependence on oil has to end at some point, the sooner the better. This accident is a very appropriate reminder that we need to turn to alternative, renewable energy sources as soon as possible. Sun, wind, hydrogen are all available, and the technology exists to make meaningful changes over the next 10 to 20 years.

Of course, the oil companies don't want to see this happen. This business is so profitable, they are going to protect it indefinitely. However, while they are still in business, this event may encourage them to spend more money providing grants to Gulf Coast universities to assist in upgrading the scientific research work and improving our knowledge of the coastal wildlife ecosystems, near-shore marine and oceanic marine systems.

So how can we the public, living outside of the affected area, help? We can contribute time and dollars to the restoration process. This ecological disaster cannot be cleaned up by BP, even though they say they are going to pay for it. The effects of the spill are going to be with us for a long time. I am contributing time to do new t-shirt designs printed by AFTCO to be sold through our dealers. Proceeds from these designs will go to our nonprofit organization, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, which will then distribute the funds to marine conservation institutions and universities conducting research to rebuild the Gulf of Mexico fisheries. This research is critical to determine the extent of the damage, so strategies can be designed to properly mitigate and counteract it.

In the meantime, dive safely and fish responsibly. It is our collective responsibility to conserve the marine environment and maintain the biodiversity of the planet.

Guy Harvey is a marine scientist, artist and conservation whose offices are based in Davie.